Flying-machine.



P. BEHRENS.

FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR.24, 1912.

Patgnted Oct. 22, 1912.

steering devices.

PAUL BEHBENS, 01E TACOMA, WASHINGTON.

FLYING-MACHINE.

z oaaai Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented cease. rare.

Application filed April 24, 1912. Serial No. 692,959.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL BEHRENS, a subject of the German Emperor, and residing at Tacoma, in the county of Pierce and State of lVashington, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Flying-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to aeroplane or flying machines heavier than air and particularly to flying machines provided with a pair of propelling means adapted to rotate in: opposite directions so as to ofiset gyroscopic effects. j

An object of the invention is to provide a flying machine of the class described, which may be'steered in lateral or vertical direction without employment of separate Another object of the invention is to dispose'said pairs of propelling means with respect to a surface of the machine so as to dlrect currents of air against certain parts of-said surface for the purpose of steering the vehicle laterally by the impact of the air against certain portions of the surface.

Another object of the invention is to dispose said propelling means on a support which is rotatably mounted with respect to the framework of the machine and to pro vide means for actuating said support during the flight of the machine.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide said propelling means in combination with a curved surface for the purpose of increasing the. steering efiectby the impact of the current of air against a ortion of the surface which is inclined wlth respect to the direction of said current.

Another object of the invention is to dispense with the so-called elevator planes ordinarily comprising a plane or a plurality of planes which are adjustable so as to pro-,

duce an ascending or descending movement of the ship. In the. present invention this ascending or descending movement of the vehicle is caused by displacement of the center of gravityof the entire vehicle.

Another object of the invention, therefore, is to provide means for shifting the compartment or basket for the passenger with respect to the frame of the vehicle, causing thereby a variation of the angular position of the surface with respect to the direction of flight.

With these and other objects in view, I have illustrated an embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawing, and other features and advantages of the invention will be specifically pointed'out in the following specification and in the appended claims.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 shows the vehicle in top plan view, the surface being removed so as to clearly show the propelling means and support therefor, the basket for the passenger also being removed. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 1, with parts in elevation, and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the vehicle.

The surface (1, preferably is curved in the shape of a flat inverted dish or such like, the concave surface being directed downward as may be clearly seen from Fig. 3. This surface a is supported by a frame a having a plurality of longitudinal and transverse members over which the fabric of the plane a is stretched. The propelling means tions and which are mounted on shafts 4:

and 5. The shafts for these propellers are supported in form d. This platform of skeleton-structure, is suspended from a circular rail 7) which is connected with the frame a of the surface a by means of rods 6, as shown in Fig. 2. Rods'6 lead from the support ll, so that said platform may be rotated about its center.

A hearing bracket 7 on the platform supports a shaft g, the ends of which are provided with bevel gears 9 and 10 respectively, in engagement with bevel gears 2' and 71' mounted on the propeller shafts 4; and 5. The shaft 7 also has a bevel gear in near the center portion thereof in engagement with a bevel-gear 11 mounted at the upper end of the shaft g. A rotary movement is imparted to the last named shaft by means of a' shaft In long'tudinally supported in the somesuitable way on a platpassenger. By means of this roller 27 and truck p, the basket may be displaced longitudinally with respect to the surface a, and as this basket also contains the motor 25 it is obvious that the center of gravity of the entire ship may be shifted by shifting the basket. The weight of the entire ship, in cluding the basket p, and motor 25, is balanced so that the ship will remain in a horizontal plane when the basket is in the normal position indicated in Fig. 2.

The basket may be displacedlongitudinally with respect to the surface a by means of a rope q, the two ends of Which are secured at g in the skeleton frame on of the machine. This rope or cable 9 is guided over the sheaves 1" which are secured to rods p and 39 respectively, the portion of the rope intermediate said sheaves being also guided over a disk .9 in the basket. When said last named disk is rotated, the basket will be advanced or returned in accordance with the direction of the rotation. The driving shaft has a pulley 7a which is slidably secured to the shaft, but which is also mounted thereon so as to rotate with the same. This support may, for instance, be accomplished by means of a key in the hub of the pulley slidable in a long keyway on the shaft. Whenever the basket p is displaced longitudinally the pulley 7a, which is connected with the motor 2, by a belt 14, will take part in the displacement and also be moved longitudinally on the shaft is. It is obvious that the rotation of the motor shaft will be transmitted to the propelling means by the belt 14:, pulley k, gears 1 and 12, shaft g and gears 11, h, 2', and i.

For the purpose of rotating the turntable d a rope u is secured thereon at the pointu, this rope being guided over a roller a; which is disposed in the basket p. When the roller is rotated one end of the rope will be re tracted while the other end advances, an ar rangement which may be similar to the rope connection of steering rudders on ships.

On account of the rotation of the support d the propellers f, f assume a position in an angle to the longitudinal axis of the surface a remaining however underneath said surface in every position the turntable may assume. The air which is thrown backwardly by the action of said propellers impacts against a lateral portion of the surface and acts as a steering means rendering the attachment of a special rudder for this purpose superfluous.

For the purpose of supporting the machine on the ground, and to insure a safe landing of the machine, a plurality of rods w provided with running wheels w are pivotally connected to a link 00, these links being in pivotal connection with the frame a of the machine. Between the suspension rods 0 and the pivotal'links m, springs 3 are interposed which have a tendency to press the links downward. The running wheels 10 are maintained in engagement. with the ground by means of another spring .2 which is interposed between the links in and the rod w, as may be clearly seen from Fig. 2. r

It will be seen that the supporting surface a, which is longitudinally channeled, forms a combined supporting and steering surface when associated with a propelling means shiftably disposed, in the manner set forth. All movable air acting surfaces are dispensed with and the supporting surface is rigidly mounted on the frame. It will thus be. seen that merely by manipulating the propelling means, the aeroplane can be steered laterally, and by changing the center of mass, as by shifting the car, a change of altitude may be obtained.

I claim:

1. An aeroplane comprising in combina tion, a frame, a supporting surface thereon, bodily shiftable propelling means on said frame, a car shiftable on said frame, means for shifting the position of the car to change the center of mass or tilt the aeroplane, means on the car for bodily shifting the propelling means, a prime mover carried by the car for driving said propelling means, and means maintaining driving connect-ion between said prime mover and propelling means irrespective of the position of thecar with respect to said frame, substantially as describe v 2. An aeroplane devoid of movable steering vanes comprising in combination, a,

frame, a combined supporting and steering surface rigidlysecured: to said frame and of longitudinally .channeled formation and having open front and rear ends to afiord a free passage of air therethrough onlines' propelling means said means is in a normal position and impassage sition, and mechanism for shifting the said to a' normal position to propel the aeroplane and'from a normal position to direct the stream of Wake against a side of said surface to steer the aeroplane laterally during propulsion, substantially as pinge against either side of the channeled described. 10 y when shifted from a normal p0 In testimony-whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two Witnesses.

PAUL BEHRENS. Witnesses v CXW. FRO EOLD, J. S. Em. 

